Mahabharata: Volume 4 (36 page)

‘Dhritarashtra said, “We have never heard false words from him.
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He has Dhananjaya as his warrior and can rule over the three worlds. Even though I think about it continually, I do not see any charioteer who can counter the wielder of the Gandiva in battle. He will shoot shafted and hollow arrows that will traverse their paths and penetrate the heart. There is no one who can counter the wielder of the Gandiva in battle. Drona and Karna are brave bulls among men. They may be able to withstand him because of their greatness. But there is no doubt that I will not have victory in this world. Karna is compassionate, but he is rash. The preceptor is senior and aged. The powerful Partha wields a firm bow and has conquered all exhaustion. He is capable of countering them and there will be a terrible battle, with both sides undefeated. All of them are warriors who are knowledgeable about weapons and all of them have attained great fame. They may possess the riches of all the gods, but they will not obtain victory. There can certainly be peace if both of them
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are killed, or if Phalguna is. But Arjuna’s defeat will not happen. Nor is there anyone who can kill him. How can his rage, which has arisen
against the wicked ones, be pacified? There are others who know about weapons. They conquer and are conquered. But it has been heard that Phalguna only has victory as the outcome. He challenged the thirty-three gods and satisfied Agni in Khandava. He defeated all the gods. I know of no instance of his defeat. His charioteer is Hrishikesha, who is his equal in character and conduct. O son!
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His victory is certain, just as Indra’s victory is. We have heard that three forces have come together on a single chariot now, the two Krishnas
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and the stringed Gandiva bow. There is no bow like that, nor a warrior, or a charioteer. But the wicked ones who follow Duryodhana do not know this. O Sanjaya! O son!
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When the blazing thunderbolt descends on the head, it may leave a residue, but the arrows released by Kiriti leave no remnant. I can already see Phalguna blazing forth. He severs the heads from the trunks with his shower of arrows. The energy of his arrows radiates in all the directions. Ignited by Gandiva, they burn down the armies of my sons. They are terrified at the roar of Savyasachi’s chariot. I can see the large army of the Bharatas tremble and flee. Like a large fire burns down deadwood and grows and spreads everywhere, with large flames fanned by the wind, he will consume those who are mine. In battle, the assassin Kiriti will release a large number of sharp arrows. He will be like death, who robs everything, and has been ordained by the creator to slaughter everything. I see and hear of many kinds of omens in the abode of the Kurus and around them, before the start of the war. Destruction certainly confronts the Bharatas.”’

‘Dhritarashtra said, “All the Pandavas are brave and desire victory. Their followers have also resolved to give up their
lives and have set their sights on victory. You yourself have spoken about those mighty enemies of mine—the Panchalas, the Kekayas, the Matsyas, the Magadhas and the kings of Vatsa. There is also the powerful one, who if he so wishes, can subjugate all the worlds, together with Indra. Krishna is supreme in the universe and he is also set on victory for the Pandavas. Satyaki swiftly obtained all knowledge from Arjuna.
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Shini’s son will be stationed in the field of battle and will shower arrows, like seeds. Dhrishtadyumna of Panchala is a maharatha and is the performer of cruel deeds. He is strong in the knowledge of supreme weapons and will fight my armies in the war. O son!
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Great fear is generated in me from Yudhishthira’s anger, Arjuna’s valour and the twins and Bhimasena. Those Indras among men will cast out a superhuman net over my soldiers. O Sanjaya! That is the reason I am lamenting. Pandu’s son
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is handsome and intelligent. He possesses the signs of prosperity and the radiance of brahmanas. He is wise and his insight is excellent. He has dharma in his soul. He is surrounded by excellent friends and advisers and he has horses to yoke and those who will yoke them. His brothers, fathers-in-law and sons are maharathas. The Pandava, tiger among men, possesses fortitude and can maintain secrecy. He is non-violent, generous and modest, and truth is his valour. He is extremely learned and has perfected his soul. He serves the aged and has conquered his senses. He has all the qualities. Which wicked one will burn himself by descending into that kindled fire, like an insect? One with stupid intelligence is certain to die if he doesn’t avoid the Pandava’s fire. The king is like a tall and thin flame, with a complexion of pure gold. He will bring about the destruction of my wicked sons in battle. I think that it is best not to fight. O Kurus! Listen to me. If there is a war, it is certain that the entire lineage will be destroyed. This is supreme peace and it will pacify my mind. If you do not wish for war, let us try for peace. If you try for this, Yudhishthira will not ignore you. He abhors adharma and blames me as having been the cause.”’

‘Sanjaya said, “O great king! O descendant of the Bharata lineage! It is exactly as you have said. It can be seen that Gandiva will destroy the kshatriyas in battle. You have always been wise. But I do not know how, despite knowing the spirit of Savyasachi, you have allowed yourself to be controlled by your sons. O great king! There is no time now. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Right from the beginning, you yourself have always maltreated the Parthas. A father who guides with his heart is always the best well-wisher. He should practise what is beneficial. One who disregards this cannot be called a superior. O great king! When you heard that they had been defeated at the game of dice, you laughed like a child and exclaimed, ‘We have won! We have gained!’ When harsh words were addressed towards the Parthas earlier, you ignored them. Though you knew that they had conquered the kingdom for themselves, you did not foresee your own downfall. O great king! Only the ancestral kingdom and Kurujangala are yours. It was only later that you obtained the entire earth, when those brave ones conquered it. The Parthas won the earth with the valour of their arms and handed it over to you. O supreme among kings! But you think that you obtained it yourself. O supreme among kings! When your sons were grasped by the king of the gandharvas and were drowning in a sea without bows, it was the Parthas who brought them back. O king! You laughed like a child when the Pandavas were deceitfully defeated in the game of dice and had to repeatedly roam around in the forest. When Arjuna showers his many sharp arrows, even the oceans dry up, not to speak of those who are born from flesh. Phalguna is the best among archers. Gandiva is supreme among bows, Keshava among all beings, Sudarshana
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among all chakras. Among all standards, the standard that bears the monkey is supreme.
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The one with the white steeds will bear these on his chariot in the field of battle and destroy us. O king! He will fling us away, like the upraised wheel of time. O king! O bull among
the Bharata lineage! The entire earth now belongs to him. O supreme among kings! He who has Bhima and Arjuna as his warriors, is the king. Attacked by Bhima, your army will be almost submerged. With Duryodhana at the forefront, the Kouravas will see this and confront destruction. O great king! Your sons, and the kings who follow them, will be oppressed by fear of Bhima. O lord! They will not be victorious. The Matsyas no longer revere you, nor do the Panchalas and the Kekayas. All the Shalveyas and Shurasenas hate you and have gone over to the Parthas, knowing the valour of that intelligent one.
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They are united with dharma and do not deserve to be killed or injured. That evil man,
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together with his followers, must be restrained in every way. O great king! You should not grieve over your son. At the time of the game with the dice, I told you, and so did the intelligent Vidura. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! O Indra among kings! All your lamentations about the Pandavas, as if you are incapable, are pointless.”’

‘Duryodhana said, “O great king! Do not be frightened. Do not sorrow on our account. O king! O lord! We are capable of defeating our enemies in war. When the Parthas were exiled to the forest, Madhusudana went to them with a large army that had subjugated the kingdoms of enemies. The Kekayas, Dhrishtaketu, Parshata Dhrishtadyumna and many other kings followed the Parthas. The maharathas assembled, not far away from Indraprastha. Having assembled together, they censured you, together with the Kurus. Yudhishthira was near them, seated on an antelope skin. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! With Krishna at the forefront, they showed him homage. The kings said that he should act so as to take back
the kingdom. They desired to uproot you, together with your followers. O king! O bull among the Bharata lineage! When I heard this, I was scared that my relatives would be destroyed and told Bhishma, Drona and Kripa then, ‘It is my view that the Pandavas will stick to the time they have agreed to. Vasudeva desires that we should be completely exterminated. It is my view that, with the exception of Vidura, all of you great-souled ones will be slain. Dhritarashtra is knowledgeable about dharma. That supreme among Kurus cannot be slain. O father!
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Having uprooted all of us entirely, Janardana wishes to hand over the entire kingdom of the Kurus to Yudhishthira. Has the time come for submission and running away? Will we fight against the enemy and give up our lives? If we fight against them, defeat will certainly be ours, because all the lords of the earth are under Yudhishthira’s suzerainty. The kingdom is dissatisfied with us and all our friends are enraged. We are being censured by all the kings and all our relatives. There is no taint in submitting to our relatives for an eternal period. But I grieve for my father. He is a lord of men and has wisdom as his sight. Is it because of my deeds that he faces this unhappiness and endless hardships. Indeed, your sons restrained the others in order to bring me pleasure. O supreme among men! You have always known this from earlier times. Driven by enmity and revenge, the maharatha Pandavas will exterminate the lineage of King Dhritarashtra and his advisers.’ O descendant of the Bharata lineage! At that, on seeing that I was extremely worried, with my senses tortured, Drona, Bhishma, Kripa and Drona’s son replied, ‘O scorcher of enemies! There is nothing to fear if we are attacked by others. O lord of men! The others are not capable of vanquishing us in battle. Each one of us is alone capable of vanquishing all the lords of the earth. Let them advance. We will demolish their pride with sharp arrows. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! In earlier times, when his father had died, the angry Bhishma had defeated all the lords of the earth, alone on a single chariot. Enraged, the best of the Kuru lineage had killed many of them and
terrified, they had sought refuge with Devavrata.
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When supported by us in battle, Bhishma is alone capable of defeating the enemy. O bull among the Bharata lineage! Therefore, give up your fear.’ At that time, this was the determination of these infinitely energetic ones. In earlier times, the entire earth was under the control of the enemies.

‘“They are now incapable of defeating us in battle. The enemies have lost their allies and the Pandavas have lost their valour. O bull among the Bharata lineage! The earth is now under our subjugation. The kings have joined with us, in happiness and in grief. O scorcher of enemies! For my sake, all the kings are prepared to enter the fire and the ocean. O supreme among the Kuru lineage! You should know this. They are laughing at you because of your grief and your many terrified lamentations when you praise the enemy, thinking you to be mad. Each of these kings is alone capable of countering the Pandavas. Each one thinks that to be true of himself. Dispel your fear. Even Vasava is incapable of vanquishing our entire army. It cannot be destroyed even by Brahma, the one who created himself. O lord! Yudhishthira is frightened of my army and my prowess. Earlier, he only asked for five villages.

‘“You think Kunti’s son, Vrikodara, to be capable. But that has no basis. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! You do not know my prowess. There is no one on earth who is my match in fighting with the club. There has never been an equal and there will never be one. I undertook a lot of hardships to reach those shores of learning. Therefore, I have nothing to fear from Bhima, or anyone else. O fortunate one! When I studied under him, Samkarshana
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said, ‘It is certain that there is no one who is equal to Duryodhana in wielding the club.’ I am Samkarshana’s equal in battle. And in might, I am his superior on earth. Bhima will not be able to withstand the blows of my club in battle. O king! With one angry, severe and swift blow, I will dispatch Bhima to Vaivasvata’s
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domain. O king! I wish to see Vrikodara with the club in his hand. This has been my wish and the
desire of my heart for a very long time. Slain by my club, Partha Vrikodara will fall down lifeless on the ground, with his body shattered. Struck by the force of my club, even the Himalaya Mountains will shatter into one hundred thousand pieces. He
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knows it, and so do Vasudeva and Arjuna—there is no one equal to Duryodhana in fighting with the club. Therefore, shed your fear of Vrikodara in the great battle. O king! I will kill him. Do not be distracted.

‘“O bull among the Bharata lineage! After he has been slain by me, many charioteers who are Arjuna’s equal or superior will swiftly overpower him. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Bhishma, Drona, Kripa, Drona’s son, Karna, Bhurishrava, the lord of Pragjyotisha, Shalya and Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu—each one of them is alone capable of killing the Pandavas. They will swiftly despatch them to Yama’s abode. Why should the soldiers of all the kings be unable to defeat Partha Dhananjaya alone? That is not reasonable. Hundreds and thousands of arrows showered by Bhishma, Drona, Drona’s son and Kripa will despatch Partha to Yama’s abode. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! The grandfather
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was born from Ganga and Shantanu and is like a brahmarshi, difficult for even the gods to overcome. His father was pleased and told him, ‘You will not die unless you wish to do so.’ Drona was born in a wooden vessel, from the brahmarshi Bharadvaja. O great king! Drona’s son, supremely skilled in the use of weapons, has been born from Drona. Kripa is foremost among preceptors and was born through maharshi Goutama in a clump of reeds. I think that this illustrious one cannot be killed. These three, Ashvatthama’s father, mother and maternal uncle, were not born from human wombs.
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O great king! That brave one is also on my side. O great king! All these maharathas are the equals of the gods. O bull among the Bharata lineage! In a battle, they can even oppress Shakra. In my view, Karna is the equal of Bhishma, Drona and Kripa. O
descendant of the Bharata lineage! Rama
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has told him that he is his equal. Karna possessed beautiful and radiant earrings that he was born with. The great Indra obtained these from the scorcher of enemies for the sake of Shachi.
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O great king! He obtained a supreme, terrible and infallible spear in return. When struck by that spear, how can Dhananjaya survive? O king! My victory is certain, like a fruit in my hand. The complete defeat of our enemies on earth is certain.